We are pleased to announce a CFP for submissions to the Fifth Annual Fandom and Neomedia Studies (FANS) Conference in Ft. Worth, TX, on 10 and 11 June 2017. #FANS5 is gearing up for a spectacular year. with Dr. Stephen Reysen of Texas A & M University at Commerce, noted fandom psychology scholar, as our keynote speaker.

Fandom for us includes all aspects of being a fan, ranging from being a passive audience member to producing one’s own parafictive or interfictive creations. Neomedia includes both new media as it is customarily defined as well as new ways of using and conceptualizing traditional media.

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Ours is an interdisciplinary group, including historians, psychologists, scientists, writers, independent scholars, and industry professionals. This allows for a wide range of opinions in our peer review process, both for the conference and the journal. We welcome contributions from all disciplines and from all levels of academic achievement as we value the intersection of fandom and academia. Our conference is thus unique in its blend of traditional and modern elements. Submissions are welcome from professors, students, and independent researchers. Topics may come from anime, manga, science fiction, television series, movies, radio, performing arts, or any other popular culture phenomenon and their respective fandom groups.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:

Women and minorities in media
Stage performance and puppet shows
Twitter literature
Science in cinema
Webcomics
Fanfic communities
Politics in video games
Historical fiction
Race in popular culture
Multilingual media and code switching
Pop culture parenting
Religious media
Media technologies
Costuming and cosplay
Social media in war zones
Ecocinema and ecocriticism
Economics of fandom

Abstracts of no more than 500 words must be submitted by 30 April 2017. Please also include your CV. Authors accepted for the conference will be notified by 10 May 2017. Successful submissions to the conference will also be published in the following Summer edition of The Phoenix Papers, our annual peer-reviewed journal. If you wish to submit a paper for inclusion in the journal but not for conference consideration, the same requirements and deadlines apply but no registration fee is required. Please indicate your preference in your submission email.

Because conference papers will be included in our journal, they must conform to our Style Guide. Presentations will be 20 minutes long with 10 minutes for Q&A sessions. The Sunday sessions will end with a final "How Did We Do?" panel. We are open to full panel discussions if a group of presenters wishes to be scheduled together.

The FANS Conference is hosted and sponsored by A-Kon, the longest continually running anime and manga convention in North America. Conference registration entitles you to the full enjoyment of A-Kon and its activities, including a chance to study anime, manga, and gaming fans in their native environment.

Our event will be held at the Ft. Worth Convention Center. Conference pre-registration is $60 and includes a Saturday luncheon. Pre-registration closes on 10 May 2017. Pre-registration includes a full weekend pass to A-Kon 27, which will provide an excellent opportunity for in-person research into anime, manga, gaming, and cosplay fandoms. All presenters must pre-register. Information for the hotel can be found here.

We also accept article and review (book, film, game) submissions for those who are unable to attend the conference in person. No registration or fee is required for non-presenting publication.

Please use our Contact Us page should you have any questions. All submissions should be sent to fansconference (at) gmail.com.

ISSN: 2325-2316

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Conference and Editorial Board:

Chair: J. Holder Bennett, Adjunct Instructor of History, Odessa College, Odessa, Texas, USA

Vice Chair: Dr. Michael Vandehey, Professor of Psychology, Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas, USA

Vice Chair, pro tem, and Graduate Student Liaison: Andrew Tague, Texas A & M University at Commerce, Commerce, Texas, USA

Dr. Darren Jon Ashmore, Professor of Anthropology Director of Japan Studies Yamanashi Gakuin University, International College of Liberal Arts, Kofu, Japan

Jonathan Davis, Independent Entrepreneur, Colleyville, Texas, USA

Dr. Marc Hairston, Research Scientist, William B. Hanson Center for Space Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, USA

Helen McCarthy, Author and Founder of Manga UK, London, England, UK

Jonathan Tarbox, CEO, Arashi Productions, and Adjunct Instructor, California State University at San Marcos, La Jolla, California, USA

Undergraduate Liaison: Karson Bryant, Collin College, McKinney, Texas, USA